Le difese del Castello

The Castle defences

Over the course of the centuries various architects and designers have been involved with and enthralled by the castle and its defensive architecture, including Leonardo da Vinci, who was called to Milan by Ludovico il Moro in 1482. The Tuscan genius' interest in civil and military architecture is well documented in both his notes and sketches. Two drawings in particular (Manuscript B, Institut de France, Paris; Vallardi Codex, 2282, Louvre, Départment des Arts Graphiques, Paris) attest to Leonardo's reinvention of fortified structures for the Milanese fortress.

The Ravelins

Construction on the ravelins (protective fortifications built in front of the gates) began during the remodelling of the castle by Francesco Sforza, possibly using the Visconti era remains as foundations. The ruins of only three ravelins remain: two are on the eastern walls, one defending Porta del Carmine, and one placed where the medieval walls of the city met the castle; and one to the west, the ravelin of Porta Vercellina. The latter, built in correspondence with the gate of Porta di Santo Spirito, is the only one in which the quadrangular structure typical of Sforza architecture is visible. This, however, is the result of the renovation carried out by the architect Luca Beltrami, who, between 1911 and 1914, rebuilt a part of the battlements, the walls, corridor ceilings and internal spaces demolished at the time of the Spanish domination. To defend the main gate of the castle, Ludovico il Moro commissioned Leonardo to design a more modern pentagonal ravelin, that was eventually built during the French occupation under Louis XII, between 1499 and 1500. The few remaining vestiges of the construction lie forgotten in the castle moat.

The Ghirlanda

The “Ghirlanda” or Garland, was an outer wall, completed with two round defensive towers and a covered road, which protected the northern side of the castle of Porta Giovia, running from from the south-western ravelin of Santo Spirito to the ravelin of Santa Maria del Carmine in the north-east. Already in use at the time of the Viscontis, the fortification was repaired and extended to the round towers by Francesco Sforza. A sketch by Leonardo, dated between 1487 and 1490, that can be found in manuscript B (Paris, Insitut de France) carries a section of the Ghirlanda and the north-west corner of the castle inclusive of all the measurements of the fortress. In 1893 the entire defensive complex of the Ghirlanda was heavy-handedly demolished. Today, all that remains of the Ghirlanda in the park are a scattering of ruins, corresponding to the round corner towers and the Porta del Soccorso entrance.

The covered road of the Ghirlanda

The covered road and its branches, built in the external walls of the moat, allowed for the movement of troops from the castle to the Ghirlanda. The road has been restored in the section that survived the demolition of the 1800s and is now accessible to visitors. The vaulted ceiling of the road, built entirely in brick, is 2.80 metres in height and is illuminated by hundreds of small windows giving onto the moat, which doubled as positions for marksmen. In all, eight tunnels, which probably gave on to the covered road via a series of doors, have been found.

The moats

The castle was equipped with two moats: one dividing the Courtyard of Arms from the Ducal Courtyard and the Rocchetta, now referred to as the dead moat; and the original moat that defended the city walls when the Visconti Castle was under construction. The moat outside the fortress, purportedly of the Sforza era, was filled-in in the 17th century and re-excavated between the 19th and 20th centuries.